Freedom of Press

Why was freedom of the press deemed so central to democracy by our founding fathers, and how did the free flow of information contribute to the new nation?

Freedom of press was deemed central to democracy because the press had a right to speak their own mind and print information that they had about a story for the masses to know about. The freedom of press also gave immunity to the press to a point where they could write about things that would not likely put them in jail.
The free flow of information contributed to the new nation by giving the reporters an incentive for finding stories that are worth putting in a newspaper or an article. The free flow of information also gave the press a bit more access to details about the government actions to certain problem areas that need to be dealt with or are not being dealt with. The community has a right to know what is going on within their government and their community as well, so the freedom of press gives them that possibility.
The government has also implemented laws on how much the press should know as well. This is done by legislation ensuring various degrees of freedom of scientific research, publishing, press and printing the depth to which these laws are entrenched in a country's legal system can go as far down as its constitution.